More Bungie Rumors

Bungie Actually Leaving Microsoft? on GameInformer lends a little of their credibility to rumors that a Bungie split from Microsoft is in the offing (story). Word is:
While the majority of Internet denizens are stating that this could never happen and that it’s not true, we’ve heard the opposite. From a source close to Bungie, Game Informer has learned this rumor has some merit. It looks like with Halo 3, Bungie really is finishing the fight.

Our source stated that Bungie is “tired of Making Halo, and didn’t want to do future Halo games.” For an unstated, but significant amount of money, Bungie shareholders bought the studio name back from Microsoft. Our source also revealed that even though Microsoft will retain the rights to Halo, Microsoft also has “the right of first refusal on future games.” This means that Microsoft has the first shot at publishing Bungie’s future titles. How this will come into play if Bungie decides they want future game X to appear on the PlayStation 3 and Wii alongside an Xbox 360 release will make things quite interesting.
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30.
 
Re: ...
Oct 4, 2007, 01:15
30.
Re: ... Oct 4, 2007, 01:15
Oct 4, 2007, 01:15
 
Tack 3 years onto that. They were developing Halo for many years before Microsoft picked them up to be Xbox exclusive. Halo was being developed for the PC originally.

Yep...major brainfart, thanks for the correction. I'd been following the game fairly closely before they made the switch, in part thanks to this site. For some reason the development of the first Halo didn't pop into my head at all and I immediately thought of it's release in 2001 and onward. Easy to forget it's pre-Xbox-buyout lineage, or maybe I'm just tired :D...I guess it helps my point a bit though. Cheers.

This comment was edited on Oct 4, 01:15.
29.
 
Re: ...
Oct 4, 2007, 00:35
29.
Re: ... Oct 4, 2007, 00:35
Oct 4, 2007, 00:35
 
I think he may have meant in so far as Marathon and Halo are the same genre and there probably will be certain unavoidable parallels in design between the two.

True enough. But Halo and Marathon are vastly different from one another outside of both being FPS games.

They must be sick of FPS' at this point in time, having done 3 of them in the past 6 years

Tack 3 years onto that. They were developing Halo for many years before Microsoft picked them up to be Xbox exclusive. Halo was being developed for the PC originally.

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28.
 
Re: ...
Oct 4, 2007, 00:06
28.
Re: ... Oct 4, 2007, 00:06
Oct 4, 2007, 00:06
 

People are talking about a Myth sequel/remake in this thread, far newer game...and you choose Marathon to point they may not satisfy their creative variety. Updating Marathon is far less of a risky venture than splitting from MS and trying to develop a new IP.

I think he may have meant in so far as Marathon and Halo are the same genre and there probably will be certain unavoidable parallels in design between the two. They must be sick of FPS' at this point in time, having done 3 of them in the past 6 years...maybe a different genre would bring a sort of freshness that may/may not (who knows?) best suit getting their creative juices flowing again. Ideally resulting in a brand new original IP...but I'll take a newer Myth or Oni with "almost" as equal enthusiasm.

27.
 
Re: ...
Oct 3, 2007, 18:44
27.
Re: ... Oct 3, 2007, 18:44
Oct 3, 2007, 18:44
 
Now that would be painful...Myth with a controller *shudders*

A bit more painful than Halo with a controller, but not much considering how phenomenal Halo looked in the original Mac/PC trailers, before M$ gobbled them up. Sad, Sad.

Hopefully there is truth to this rumor and the original Bungie crew can get back to making good COMPUTER games. Don't get me wrong, I only begrudge console games when they lesson/ruin what could otherwise be an incredible game on the medium best suited... in the case of FPS, anything with a KB and mouse!!

26.
 
Re: No subject
Oct 3, 2007, 14:57
26.
Re: No subject Oct 3, 2007, 14:57
Oct 3, 2007, 14:57
 
if they're tiring of Halo then I doubt a Marathon remake would satisfy their need for creative variety.

It's been 12 years since Marathon 2 was released and they were really limited by technology back then. Do you really see some sort of comparison to being tired of making 3 (or 4 inc Halo Wars) Halo games in the last 10 years, to being tired of their own IP that last saw daylight 12 years ago?

People are talking about a Myth sequel/remake in this thread, far newer game...and you choose Marathon to point they may not satisfy their creative variety. Updating Marathon is far less of a risky venture than splitting from MS and trying to develop a new IP.

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25.
 
Re: ...
Oct 3, 2007, 11:32
Jow
25.
Re: ... Oct 3, 2007, 11:32
Oct 3, 2007, 11:32
Jow
 
> I don't get this, if they're tired of making Halo >games, then stop making Halo games. Anything Bungie puts >their name on will sell, so MS will be happy irregardless if >it's Halo or some other IP.

Not sure I agree with this. How many of the millions of purchasers of this game do you think have any clue who Bungie is or what their history is? My guess is the first non-Halo project once they leave MS isn't going to sell nearly as well based on this, but don't get me wrong... I am completely and utterly for Bungie breaking the Halo chain.

24.
 
No subject
Oct 3, 2007, 10:47
24.
No subject Oct 3, 2007, 10:47
Oct 3, 2007, 10:47
 
Well, maybe they will make something with more depth and content.

The Halos just doesn't do it for me.

All looks the same.....

Rev. Norb: I'd just like to say that four for a dollar Tijuana tacos seemed like a good idea at the time. Please pass the toilet paper.
23.
 
Re: ...
Oct 3, 2007, 10:36
23.
Re: ... Oct 3, 2007, 10:36
Oct 3, 2007, 10:36
 
Honestly the Halo series would have held up quite well on PC if they were released on the PC at the same time of their console counterparts.

No it wouldn't have, and didn't. Metascore for Halo 1 PC is 15+ points lower then it is for the console. If MS had never bought Bungie, and they released exactly the same thing but as a PC shooter title, it's hype would have carried it a bit (just like Halo 3's hype has carried it to get several 100/100 scores,) but it would have been the next Diakatana. Bad level design, extremely linear, terrible AI on most the mobs, generic storyline, the list of what is wrong with Halo as a PC shooter goes on and on.

However because it's a console shooter, and there are so few 'good' ones, it is hailed as the best of it's kind.

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22.
 
Re: ...
Oct 3, 2007, 09:20
22.
Re: ... Oct 3, 2007, 09:20
Oct 3, 2007, 09:20
 
Ahh the age old "it's a beta." If you have been in enough betas that are late in development, you should know that all they really will do is tweak and bug fix. Virtually everything else is set in stone. A beta will provide you with almost a crystal clear picture of what the game is like, DX 10 or not. The polish isn't there but everything else is.

21.
 
Re: ...
Oct 3, 2007, 08:34
21.
Re: ... Oct 3, 2007, 08:34
Oct 3, 2007, 08:34
 
#20

MP Beta is a really bad judge of how the game looks.

1) Its not DX10
2) History has shown us MP part of a game is usually dumbed down to allow for better frame rate when there is a crap load of people on the screen.
3) ITS A BETA

No im not a fanboy... just stating the amazingly obvious.

This comment was edited on Oct 3, 08:35.
20.
 
...
Oct 3, 2007, 08:28
20.
... Oct 3, 2007, 08:28
Oct 3, 2007, 08:28
 
I still think Halo 3 holds up quite well graphically to any PC game out there right now with the exception of Crysis.
Crysis isn't all that impressive having played the MP Beta... TF2 is the real competition graphically and I think easily beats Halo 3. I think Halo 3 would do fine if it was released on PC now with a decent port but the ports in the past have been terrible.

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19.
 
No subject
Oct 3, 2007, 08:21
19.
No subject Oct 3, 2007, 08:21
Oct 3, 2007, 08:21
 
Marathon remake!

if they're tiring of Halo then I doubt a Marathon remake would satisfy their need for creative variety.

I can see their point, if they stay they'll be locked into the franchise for as long as people will buy it.

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18.
 
No subject
Oct 3, 2007, 07:26
18.
No subject Oct 3, 2007, 07:26
Oct 3, 2007, 07:26
 
i enjoy the whole "a close source reveals" rubbish.

reminds me of those hollywood gossip magazines. so im sure we will see the real reason bungie wants to split is because microsoft needs to go into rehab.

EDIT: i also have very fond memorys of myth. i might go see if i can find a demo of 1 or 2 to download :p

This comment was edited on Oct 3, 07:30.
17.
 
good PR move by bungie...
Oct 3, 2007, 06:48
17.
good PR move by bungie... Oct 3, 2007, 06:48
Oct 3, 2007, 06:48
 
they are probably trying to renegotiate their cut of the profits. one way of doing it is threatening to leave microsoft but ending up with a new contract. like what pixar did with disney.

16.
 
Re: ...
Oct 3, 2007, 06:13
16.
Re: ... Oct 3, 2007, 06:13
Oct 3, 2007, 06:13
 
I suspect they'll just renegotiate their deal and MS will fatten their pay cheques and improve working hours until a deal is there that is impossible to refuse.

15.
 
Re: ...
Oct 3, 2007, 02:28
15.
Re: ... Oct 3, 2007, 02:28
Oct 3, 2007, 02:28
 
I think they sold the Myth license before they got bought by Microsoft though, which resulted in the joke that was Myth 3.

Perhaps they'll repurchase the rights? In my opinion the pinnacle of Bungie at their best were the Myth games. Still revolutionary to this day where we STILL have RTS' where projectiles aren't independent objects that can miss (not talking a % to miss, a la Warcraft) or do not cause friendly fire due to a number of real-world/tactical reasons or aren't based on any type of physics engine; unless you count death/destruction where it's more superfluous than anything if it doesn't coherently affect gameplay as well. Wind direction/speed, topography, accuracy based upon distance/positioning, weather, actual damage from flying detritus (more or less dmg depending on what said detritus is), etc...

A true RTS that requires actual STRATEGY where the player can be as big if not more of a danger to himself & his allies than the enemy, in the wrong hands. More please...X|

This comment was edited on Oct 9, 11:32.
14.
 
Re: ...
Oct 3, 2007, 01:59
14.
Re: ... Oct 3, 2007, 01:59
Oct 3, 2007, 01:59
 
Actually if you remember, Halo 1 started with the Marathon logo on side of the ship, and is very noticeable on Guilty Spark in Halo 3, along with the Marathon planet at the end of Halo 3.

Honestly the Halo series would have held up quite well on PC if they were released on the PC at the same time of their console counterparts. I still think Halo 3 holds up quite well graphically to any PC game out there right now with the exception of Crysis.

As for Bungie making new games, I would love for them to do another Oni game with the multiplayer that was sadly stripped from the first game.

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13.
 
Re:
Oct 3, 2007, 01:54
13.
Re: Oct 3, 2007, 01:54
Oct 3, 2007, 01:54
 
By the way I spent about a half-hour searching for Bungie's ticker symbol and it simply does not exist.

Companies don't have to have a ticker to have shareholders. Only publicly-traded companies will have tickers, but all companies have shareholders (even if it's just one owner that has all the shares). A publicly-traded game developer would be an extraordinarily rare thing. But one with a number of shareholders is quite common. Usually when starting up a development house it's common for whomever is starting it up to offer the lead positions a share in the new company to lure them away from whatever sure thing they've got going on elsewhere.

So you've got the lead programmers, producers, etc that all initially started up this new company BECAUSE they wanted to make something different on their own that, now, for the past few years have been on somewhat of a tight leash creatively I'm sure; though as the head people at Bungie they've undoubtedly been very nicely compensated for it. So they can run off and repeat the same process, which is what developers do, and why for every big success you'll see a half-dozen new development houses pop up as the shareholders take their cuts of the profits and run. Or, if you like the people you work with, you take the profits "The Man" has been paying you and you offer to buy yourself back out again.

And then Microsoft, faced with either a mass exodus from Bungie, has to decide to take the offer which will at least give you future rights of first refusal on Bungie games, or face having Bungie gutted from the inside as all the employees leave which could make it a virtually worthless asset anyhow.

12.
 
Re: ...
Oct 3, 2007, 01:53
12.
Re: ... Oct 3, 2007, 01:53
Oct 3, 2007, 01:53
 
The halo games suck balls when compared to any other PC shooter as it is. I bet just as soon as the gold copy of Halo 3 was out the door MS was cracking the whip to get pre-production of Halo 4 (or some off-shot of the main story) underway. I'd say give MS a swift kick in the nuts and do what you want to do now that you have the money and the prestige (though, in my opinion, the games are more hype the actual game,) and go make your dream project with some other company that won't staple your balls to the wall with set dates that are nearly impossible to meet, etc.

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11.
 
No subject
Oct 3, 2007, 01:52
11.
No subject Oct 3, 2007, 01:52
Oct 3, 2007, 01:52
 
If they do split, they could end up making LESS money. Perhaps not a good business move.

Perhaps they will make MORE money? Under Microsoft, they were paid a set fee, perhaps with some profit-sharing options. On their own the options are limitless. Do you think Bungie is going to have a hard time getting another publisher?

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